Friday, July 15, 2011

I was reading on WaldenU.edu today that Bill Clinton will be the keynote speaker at Walden University’s commencement on July 30, 2011. Walden plans to confer President Clinton with an honorary doctorate in recognition of his commitment to civic engagement, youth leadership and education.

According to Wikipedia, "An honorary degree[..] is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations.".. in other words, the person receiving the degree really has done nothing whatsoever at the university to earn the degree.

Wikipedia goes on to say that "The degree is typically a doctorate or, less commonly, a master's degree, and may be awarded to someone who has no prior connection with the academic institution. Usually the degree is conferred as a way of honoring a distinguished visitor's contributions to a specific field, or to society in general. The university often derives benefits by association with the person in question."

This got me thinking about money. I was wondering if there was any money exchanging hands here.

Wikipedia does note that "Some universities and colleges have been accused of granting honorary degrees in exchange for large donations. Honorary degree recipients, particularly those who have no prior academic qualifications, have sometimes been criticized if they insist on being called 'Doctor' as a result of their award, as the honorific may mislead the general public about their qualifications."

Walden University isn't the only one handing out fake... I mean honorary... degrees to Bill Clinton. A quick search on Google shows that Bill Clinton has received many honorary degrees, including ones from McGill University, University of Central Missouri, NYU, and Dartmouth, just to name a few.